Celine Dion - I'm alive - Chord

Key D major – B minor Chords A, D, Bm, G, E, Dbm, B, Em … Easy key G (capo 7)

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Capo 0

   D
Hmmmmmmmmm
   Bm
Hmmmmmmmmm
       G
I get wings to fly
A            D
Oh oh  I'm alive
          D
When you call on me
        Bm
When I hear you breathe
       G
I get wings to fly
   A              D
I feel that I’m alive
          Bm
When you look at me
       G
I can touch the sky
    A             D   Bm
I know that I’m alive ah ah ah ah
        G      A
Ooh ohohoh  I heard

           D
When you bless the day
         Bm
I just drift away
        G
All my worries die
      A             D
I’m glad that I’m alive
        Bm
You’ve set my heart on fire
                G
Filled me with love
           A
Made me a woman
            D
On clouds above
   Bm
I couldn’t get much higher
                  G
My spirit takes flight
              A
'Cause I am alive  ooohh
          D
When you call on me  
        Bm
When I hear you breathe 
       G
I get wings to fly
   A              D
I feel that I’m alive 

         Bm
When you reach for me 
          G
Raising spirits high
      A
God knows that

Em                 Em7           Bm
  That I’ll be the one standing by
                           A
Through good and through trying times
C                G
And it’s only begun
         D                       A
I can’t wait for the rest of my life

          E
When you call on me
          Dbm
When you reach for me
       A
I get wings to fly 
   B
I feel that 
           E
When you bless the day
         Dbm
I just drift away
        A
All my worries die 
    B            Dbm
I know that I’m alive, yeaahh
       A
I get wings to fly
     B              E
God knows that I’m alive

End of song Play again?

Celine Dion - I'm alive Tabs

NotesX

Harmony analysis

Celine Dion – I'm alive: key and chord analysis

The song opens on D and ends on E. Its chords belong to both D major and Bm, so every chord below is read both ways.

Major view

D major

Brightness rank 2/7 (bright)

Characteristic notes

7 = C# (leading tone, pulls home)
4 = G (the note that leans on the 3rd)

Minor view

B minor

Brightness rank 5/7 (leaning dark)

Characteristic notes

b6 = G (the minor's melancholy)
b7 = A (natural-minor colour)

Which side does the ear lean to?

Our reading: to us the song feels closer to the D major side because it opens on D and D is heard 11 times against 10 for Bm. That is an interpretation, not a rule — hearing the same chords from B minor is just as valid and teaches you something different.

Chord degrees: major and relative minor

Show the degrees above the chords — relative to D or to Bm; comparing both readings is a practice of its own.

Every chord of the key, listed 1 to 7 separately for each key. Chords played in the song show how often they appear; chords from outside the scale sit next to their own degree.

Seen from D major
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
I	D	Tonic — home	D · F# · A	11×
ii	Em	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B	1×
ii7	Em7	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	E · G · B · D	1×
V/V	E	Secondary dominant V/V — leads to Asecondary dominant	E · G# · B	3×
iii	F#m	Mediant — a tonic-family shade	F# · A · C#	—
V/vi	F#	Secondary dominant V/vi — leads to Bmsecondary dominant	F# · A# · C#	—
IV	G	Subdominant — moves away from home	G · B · D	10×
V	A	Dominant — strongest pull home	A · C# · E	14×
vi	Bm	Relative minor — the melancholy side	B · D · F#	10×
V/ii	B	Secondary dominant V/ii — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	3×
bVII	C	bVII — borrowed (Mixolydian / parallel minor)borrowed chord	C · E · G	1×
vii°	C#dim	Leading-tone chord — tension	C# · E · G	—
vii	Dbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · Fb · Ab	3×

Seen from B minor
Degree	Chord	Role	Notes	In song
i	Bm	Tonic — home	B · D · F#	10×
V/iv	B	Secondary dominant V/iv — leads to Emsecondary dominant	B · D# · F#	3×
bII	C	Neapolitan bII — a dark, dramatic colour a half step above the tonicborrowed chord	C · E · G	1×
ii°	C#dim	Supertonic — prepares the dominant	C# · E · G	—
ii	Dbm	Chromatic colour chordoutside the key	Db · Fb · Ab	3×
III	D	Relative major — the bright side	D · F# · A	11×
iv	Em	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B	1×
iv7	Em7	Subdominant — moves away from home	E · G · B · D	1×
IV	E	Major IV — Dorian / melodic-minor colourmodal colour	E · G# · B	3×
v	F#m	Minor dominant — soft pull	F# · A · C#	—
V	F#	Dominant — borrowed from harmonic minor, pulls hard to the tonicharmonic minor	F# · A# · C#	—
VI	G	Submediant — warm colour	G · B · D	10×
VII	A	Subtonic — steps back to the tonic	A · C# · E	14×

Analysis

The key pair is D major and its relative B minor (2 sharps). 10 different chords appear 57 times in total; 6 of them sit naturally inside the shared scale. E, B act as secondary dominants, briefly pointing at another chord of the key. C is borrowed from the parallel minor, adding a darker shade to the major side.

Chord movement

G A DIV → VIV → V BmVI → VIIVI → VII ×9
A D DV → Iauthentic cadence BmVII → III ×8
Em7 Bm Dii7 → vi Bmiv7 → iminor plagal ×1
G D DIV → Iplagal cadence BmVI → III ×1

The move to watch is G → A, heard 9 times. From the D side it reads IV → V (IV → V: the lift that builds tension before home); from the Bm side it is VI → VII (VI → VII: the rising step that heads for the tonic). Knowing where these arrivals fall helps you feel the phrasing and anticipate the next chord.

Improvisation tips

D major pentatonic and B minor pentatonic are the same five notes (D – E – F# – A – B): start from D for a brighter phrase, from B for a bluesier one.
Over A, land on A, C#, E — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over D, land on D, F#, A — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
Over Bm, land on B, D, F# — the chord's own tones always sound right on strong beats.
On C, follow the chord's notes (C · E · G) rather than the key's scale — it's a borrowed colour.

The song on the circle of fifths

Played in the song — chord of the key
Played — the minor's harmonic V or a secondary dominant
Played — borrowed or outside chord
Home region: IV–I–V and ii–vi–iii

Empty slices are chords the song doesn't use.

Capo and easier keys

With D major shapes

No capo — open D shapes
Capo 2 + C shapes
Capo 5 + A shapes

With B minor shapes

Capo 2 + Am shapes
Capo 7 + Em shapes

Easiest keys on guitar

5 semitones up · capo 7 keeps the original pitch
2 semitones down · capo 2 keeps the original pitch

The song's harmonic story

The opening D lays a solid floor for everything that follows. The backbone is A, D, Bm, G — V–I–vi–IV from the D side, VII–III–i–VI from the Bm side. E adds a moment of surprise: secondary dominant V/V — leads to A. Keep an ear on G → A (IV → V in D, VI → VII in Bm): IV → V — the lift that builds tension before home. The final chord is E; the ear comes to rest in D.

This analysis is generated from the song's chords by akorculuk's harmony engine using consistent rules. When you change key, the degrees stay the same; only the chord names change.